🔗 Share this article

For India's first solar observatory, 2026 will be truly unique.

It's the first time the observatory – that entered into space last year – can watch our star during the peak of its solar cycle.

As per scientific data, this occurs approximately once every 11 years when the Sun's polarity reverses – a similar Earth scenario could be the planet's poles changing places.

It's a time marked by intense activity. It sees the Sun changing from calm to stormy and features a huge increase in the number of solar storms and massive solar flares – massive bubbles of plasma that erupt from the solar corona.

Made up of charged particles, a CME may have a mass of billions of tons and reach velocities of up to 3,000km per second. It can head out toward various directions, even toward our planet. At top speed, it would take an ejection 15 hours to traverse the 150 million km between Earth and the Sun.

"During typical or quiet periods, the Sun emits a few solar eruptions a day," explains an astrophysics expert. "In 2026, we expect them to be over ten daily."

Researching coronal mass ejections ranks among the key scientific objectives of India's first solar observatory. Firstly, as these eruptions offer a chance to learn about the Sun in the center of our planetary system, and two, since events occurring on the solar surface threaten systems on Earth and in orbit.

Impacts on Our Planet and Space Infrastructure

Coronal mass ejections rarely pose a direct threat to human life, but they do affect life on Earth by causing magnetic disturbances that impact the weather in Earth's vicinity, where about 11,000 satellites, including many from India, orbit.

"The most spectacular manifestations of a CME include northern lights, which are direct evidence that charged particles from Sun are travelling toward our planet," the expert explains.

"But they can also cause electronic systems on a satellite malfunction, knock down electrical networks and affect meteorological and telecom spacecraft."

Historical Solar Events

• The most powerful solar event in history occurred during the 1859 solar superstorm that disabled communication systems across the globe
• During 1989, sections of Quebec's power grid was knocked out, leaving millions without power for hours
• During late 2015, solar storms disrupted air traffic control, leading to chaos in Sweden and some other European air hubs
• In February 2022, an ejection had led to 38 commercial satellites failing

If we are able to see what happens in the solar atmosphere and spot solar activity or a coronal mass ejection as it happens, measure its heat at origin and track its path, this serves as advanced warning to switch off electrical systems and satellites and move them out of harm's way.

The Mission's Special Capability

While other solar missions observing our star, Aditya-L1 holds an edge compared to rivals when it comes to studying the solar atmosphere.

"Aditya-L1's coronagraph has perfect dimensions enabling it to nearly mimic lunar coverage, fully covering the solar disk and allowing it an uninterrupted view of almost all of the corona 24 hours a day, throughout the year, even during solar events," notes the expert.

Essentially, this instrument functions as a synthetic eclipse, obscuring the solar glare to let scientists continuously observe the dim solar atmosphere – a feat the real Moon provide only during specific moments.

Additionally, it's unique capable of examining solar events using optical wavelengths, letting it measure eruption heat and thermal output – crucial data that show the intensity of an eruption when traveling our direction.

Readiness for Maximum Activity

In preparation for next year's solar maximum, scientists worked together to study the data gathered from one of the largest solar eruption that Aditya-L1 has recorded until now.

This event began in September 2024 at 00:30 GMT. Its mass was 270 million tonnes – the iceberg that sank Titanic weighed much less.

At origin, the heat was 1.8 million degrees Celsius and the energy content was equivalent to millions of tons of explosives – in comparison the atomic bombs used in Japan were 15 kilotons and 21 kilotons respectively.

Even though the numbers make it sound massive, the scientist describes it as a "medium-sized" one.

The space rock which wiped out prehistoric life on our planet was 100 million megatons and during solar peak occurs, we could see CMEs carrying power equal to even more than that.

"In my view this eruption we analyzed happened when the Sun was in the normal activity phase. Now this sets the benchmark for future comparison assessing what to expect when the maximum activity cycle occurs," he states.

"The learnings gained will help us developing protective measures to implement to protect satellites in orbit. Additionally, they'll aid achieving a better understanding of near-Earth space," he concludes.